Fullback Riaan Viljoen injected the moment of individualism required to break open a game that threatened a stalemate at 13-all and Pat Lambie’s boot did the rest on a night in which the better side won.

The Force led 10-7 at halftime but the Sharks were always the more dangerous in attack and although they were defensively poor at times they never looked like losing the game.

The Force relied on courageous and defiant defence to beat the Crusaders and draw with the Reds in Perth but on Friday they couldn’t replicate a similar intensity to trouble the Sharks.

The South Africans, low on confidence and ravaged by injury and talk of cultural divisions in the team, played with unity and there didn’t seem to be a lack of communication in their rugby. They outscored the hosts two tries to one, with captain Keegan Daniel getting the first try and Vijoen running strongly for his five pointer.

Lambie was decent with the boot but again produced a performance at flyhalf that was more par than eagle-like.

Marcel Coetzee was the pick of a committed forward effort, Daniel and Willem Alberts were always present and Viljoen was easily the best of the South African backs.